In Billy Vunipola’s life there are currently three very important people: Eddie Jones, the player’s partner and his mother, not necessarily in that order. He wants to keep them all happy, which is why beating France with England on Saturday is not his sole priority. “I don’t think I should say this because I don’t think my mum knows but I’m actually looking for a house. My missus will be living with me – that’s the thing my mum doesn’t know. This is probably the best way to tell her.”

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If anyone has a conveniently spacious property for sale in the St Albans area, the hulking Vunipola will be keen to talk once the championship is over. At the moment it is doing his head in – “It’s probably more stressful than the rugby, to be honest” – to the point where he is starting to fantasise about basing himself at the team’s plush hotel in Bagshot, as Jones is presently doing. “I wish I could just stay here but I can’t. Eddie loves it here. We could be next-door neighbours.”

In almost the same breath, however, the Saracens No8 stresses this is not the time for relaxation. With a first English grand slam since 2003 still on offer he is not ready to ease up even though he and his squad have the 2016 title in the bag. “If we start relaxing, that’s where things go wrong. We realise we have won the trophy but I don’t think it will feel as good if we don’t complete the job. Winning every game was our target and we’re on course for it.”

Playing as purposefully in Paris as England did for the first 50 minutes against Wales last Saturday would clearly help. “It wasn’t just the accuracy we focused on. It was the intensity we brought,” Vunipola adds. “You saw the way we attacked – we were going at them rather than sitting back and letting them get off the line and hit us.

“If you are running at people who are defending they have to stop, wait and look for the next threat, rather than sprinting up and hitting the person who’s getting the ball. After 60 minutes they came back; that’s the true sign of a very strong and good team so credit to them, but I don’t think they have given us enough credit. The boys did really well to put such an experienced team under great pressure.”

England will not lack for wider recognition if they can claim a fifth successive victory and the sense of shared enjoyment within the camp is suiting Vunipola, among others. He may not be the most vocal of vice-captains – “It’s a massive thing to do with my culture ... I don’t really talk to those who are older than me and tell them what to do” – but leading by example at Test level is starting to appeal to him.

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“For me it’s important that whatever I say I’m able to back it up. So I tend not to talk too much, just in case I’m not able to do what I’ve said. It’s an enjoyable environment to be in and long may it continue. It’s allowed me to express myself.”

While one further win would also trigger a collective squad bonus of £600,000 for clinching a grand slam, Vunipola is more attracted by the affirmation a clean sweep would bring in the wake of the World Cup last year. “We never really talked about the World Cup. It was gone. I think it was something that happened for a reason so that other things could fall in line and here we are now.

“I’ve seen a lot of stuff written about bonuses so a grand slam would definitely boost the boys’ bank accounts. But that’s not important right now; we’re just trying to win every game we play for England. After the game we might realise we’ve done something special but for now we’re just concentrating on our job. The biggest and most important message is that nothing changes from last week. You always want to end on a high but we’re approaching it as we would every other game.”